The New York Times posted an article yesterday discussing how the U.S. housing sector in performing in regional real estate markets. The Times points out that although home prices have fallen since the housing crisis, many families are struggling with the inability to afford to buy a home in many major cities. Even with the lowest mortgage rates ever recorded, many renters simply can’t afford to make the transition to become a homeowner. Many lenders are enjoying a huge surge in applications as a result of falling interest rates. If you own a home and have a rate above 4%, take a minute and compare mortgage refinance loans now.

Despite lower prices, a median-income household can afford a median-priced home in just 14 of the country’s 25 largest metropolitan areas due to rising expenses and stagnant wages, research from Interest.com finds. The home affordability study finds that Detroit, Atlanta and Minneapolis are the most affordable markets, and San Diego, New York and San Francisco are the least affordable. “Even after years of decreasing house prices and record low rates for affordable home loan programs, median-income households are unable to afford a median-priced home in nearly half of the metropolitan areas that we looked at,” explained Mike Sante, the site’s managing editor, in a statement.

The least affordable city was San Francisco, where the median income falls 33% short of the income needed to buy a median-priced home.

The most-affordable and least-affordable markets and their paycheck power ratings are: